This Apple Crumb Cake is a delicious fall treat. With a moist cake layer, a gooey apple layer, and a crisp sugary crumb on top, it is the perfect apple cinnamon dessert.
Make-ahead
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: How to get bakery-fresh flavor at home
Worth It: A cozy, satisfying treat
Bonus: Pair with coffee even more of a pick-me-up
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Perfect fall treat – I love making this apple crumb cake in the fall. There’s nothing better than the combination of apples and cinnamon. It’s the best of apple pie and coffee cake all in one.
- Best sweet breakfast – I love having a slice of apple crumb cake with coffee in the morning when I’m craving something sweet!
- Great for a group – This apple crumb cake recipe is light and delicious. It’s perfect to cut into small slices to serve a crowd.
Serving suggestions
Serve this apple crumb cake with all of your fall favorites! It would be delicious with some apple cider sangria. If you are having it with coffee, add in some pumpkin spice latte syrup.
If you are serving a dessert spread, make these pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies, spice cake, or pumpkin banana bread.
For another sweet fall breakfast option, make pumpkin challah french toast.
Ingredients
- Butter – use unsalted softened butter for your cake, and use unsalted melted butter for your crumb
- Granulated sugar – you will use sugar to sweeten your cake layer and your crumb layer
- Eggs – allow the eggs to come to room temperature for an even bake
- Vanilla extract – vanilla will enhance the flavors of your cake layer
- Sour cream – I love adding sour cream for moisture and the perfect texture for a soft buttery cake
- All purpose flour – if you need to make your cake gluten free, use gluten free instead of all purpose
- Baking powder and baking soda – these will help get the perfect rise on your cake
- Kosher salt – I recommend using kosher salt. If you use table salt or sea salt, halve the amount you use
- Apple – peel and cube your favorite apples for this recipe
- Cornstarch – cornstarch thickens your apple layer for the perfect gooey texture
- Ground cinnamon – add ground cinnamon for the best fall flavor
- Brown sugar – light brown sugar helps caramelize and sweeten your crumb layer
Ingredient Substitutions
You can use your favorite apples for this recipe. I like granny smith apples for the cake, but pink lady, fuji, gala, or honeycrisp would all be delicious. I prefer not using lemon juice personally, but you can absolutely add some to your apples.
To make your cake batter and crumb topping gluten free, be sure to use gluten-free flour.
Instead of sour cream, you could substitute plain greek yogurt. If you would like to add a glaze on top of your streusel, you could whisk together powdered sugar and a couple of tablespoons of milk with a half teaspoon vanilla extract.
How to make
Step 1: Mix Wet Ingredients
Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper.
Cream softened butter and sugar together (Image 1) for the cake layer with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer paddle attachment. Mix in large eggs and vanilla (Image 2). Then, mix in sour cream.
Step 2: Mix the Batter & Apples
In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and quarter teaspoon salt. Mix dry ingredients into wet with the electric mixer (Image 3). Until just combined – be careful not to over mix. Set mixture aside.
Mix apples, cornstarch and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside (Image 4).
Step 3: Make Crumb and layer Cake
For the crumble topping, mix all ingredients together in a bowl until a crumby, wet sand like texture remains (Image 5). I find its best to use your hands to mix.
Assemble crumb cake in the 8×8 baking pan first with the cake layer (Image 6), then the apple layer (Image 7) and finally the crumb layer on top (Image 8).
Step 4: Bake, cool and cut into squares
Place in the oven to bake at 350F for a cook time of 45-50 minutes. The total time will vary depending on your oven. Check that cake is fully baked by inserting a toothpick into the cake layer – it should come out clean from the apple cake layer, but there will be a gooey middle apple layer.
Cool completely before dusting the top with powdered sugar and cutting into squares.
Storage, reheating and freezing
Once the apple crumb cake cools completely, cover in plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
You can store in the freezer after cooking and cooling in an airtight container for up to 3 months. I like to cut into squares before freezing.
Check out these other Fall Recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Apple Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Cake Layer
- 1 stick unsalted butter – softened
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs – room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
Apple Layer
- 1 ½ cups apple peeled and cubed
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Crumb Layer
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper.
- Cream softened butter and sugar together for the cake layer with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer paddle attachment. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Then, mix in sour cream.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix dry ingredients into wet with the electric mixer. Until just combined – be careful not to over mix. Set batter aside
- Mix apples, cornstarch and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
- For the crumb layer mix all ingredients together in a bowl until a crumby, wet sand like texture remains. I find its best to use your hands to mix.
- Assemble crumb cake in the 8×8 baking pan first with the cake layer, then the apple layer and finally the crumb layer on top.
- Place in the oven to bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes. Check that cake is full baked by inserting a toothpick into the cake layer – it should come out clean from the cake layer, but there will be a gooey middle apple layer.
- Cool completely before dusting the top with powdered sugar and cutting into squares.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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